DPU's Stoffregen honored by alma mater

WAVERLY, Iowa -- DePauw cross country coach and former Wartburg College cross country and track and field standout Kori Stoffregen has been named the recipient of the Wartburg Athletic Department's 2007 John Kurtt Alumni Coach of the Year award. Stoffregen has guided the Tigers to 24 cross country and track conference championships. He has earned conference coach of the year honors 23 times in the four sports.

Nationally, Stoffregen has coached DePauw student-athletes to 19 all-America awards including a national champion, Colin Smith, in the discus at the 1998 outdoor championships. His men's cross country teams have qualified for the NCAA Division III Championships on two different occasions and the women's program has done so four times including a seventh-place finish in 2007. In 2004, the men and women's cross country teams achieved their highest national ranking. The Tiger men were ranked eighth and the women 10th.

The Jesup, Iowa native is also an instructor in the kinesiology department and is the meet director for the DePauw Indoor Track and Field Series. Annually over 3,000 youth, high school, and collegiate athletes compete at the DePauw indoor track facility. In 2003, Stoffregen was the meet director for the NCAA Division III Men's and Women's Indoor Track and Field Championships, hosted by DePauw.

"(Getting this award) is exciting for me due to the fact that it's named for my former head coach, John Kurtt," Stoffregen said. "He was very important to me as a college student…in my development on and off the race course. My experiences at Wartburg mostly revolve around the cross country team and coach Kurtt."